Far from the Urban Jungle: Incredible Journey to Malaysia’s Natural World

Malaysia’s natural ecosystem is enormously megadiverse, with a rich and sustainable biodiverse range of flora and fauna found in many ecoregions throughout the country. The enriched natural treasure of Malaysia far outweighs the elegance of the urban jungle. 

A Land of Wonderland of Biodiversity

Sprawling over 330,803 square kilometres (127,724 square miles), Malaysia is home to a variety of breathtaking landscapes and tourist destinations for relaxing and exploring. The nation is one of the most biodiverse in the world and is made up of a northern section of Borneo and a western peninsula in Asia. This makes Malaysia an excellent location for all types of wildlife-viewing excursions. Numerous locations provide safari-style game drives where visitors may view anything from Asian elephants to rhinos and orangutans on the western peninsula of the country, which is home to a wide variety of amazing species. The enormous richness of the nation’s tropical rainforests may also be observed by taking river cruises on the island of Borneo. A hollowed-out karst environment with several spectacular caves to explore can also be found in East Malaysia. The world’s biggest cave system, the Mulu Caves, is a favourite site for explorers of all stripes.

Rainforests: Thriving Against All Odds

The rainforests of Southeast Asia, particularly those that dominate the Malaysian peninsula, are said to be some of the oldest and most ecologically varied forests in the world. However, a variety of human actions that endanger the ecology have put them in jeopardy of extinction. Despite the expansion of cities and the threat of extinction, Malaysian rainforests are still thriving and it can be hoped that they will continue to remain a national treasure. However, between 59 and 70 percent of Malaysia’s total geographical area is made up of tropical rainforests, with 11.6 percent of that area being completely untouched. Over 500,000 hectares of Malaysia’s mangroves make up the fifth-largest area in the world (over 1.2 million acres).

Ecological Significance and Threats

Malaysian natural world, particularly rainforests, supports a wide variety of plant and animal life, including over 600 bird species, 15,000 plants, and over 200 mammal species (including the endangered Malayan tiger, Asian elephant, Sumatran rhinoceros, Malayan tapir, gaur, and clouded leopard). 35 percent of these plant species are unique to this region only. However, the main danger to nature and residents of Malaysia’s natural landscape, more specifically its rich rainforest is human-caused logging. Lowland forests have been destroyed to make orchards, rubber plantations, rice fields, and oil palm plantations. Alongside these businesses, logging has experienced a boom, and the expansion of human settlements poses an additional threat to the woods. There is a dire need to protect and preserve Malaysian natural domain because its great significance in the ecological balance of Malaysia, Asia and beyond.

Conservation Area and Ecotourism

Malaysia’s huge tracts of forests and “protected areas” are home to an endless variety of flora and creatures, including various species of primates, birds, and mammals. The protected areas are especially guarded by the Government of Malaysia against any hunting of animals or destruction of nature. This is extremely significant as per as the protection of the natural world is concerned. Examples of such ‘Conservation Area’ includes places such as Danum Valley Conservation Area, Nature Reserve at Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort, Maliau Basin Conservation Area, Semenggoh Nature Reserve, Bako National Park, Taman Negara Malaysia, Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve and many more. Over the years, these areas have become primary destinations of ecotourism in Malaysia.

For example, Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve is one of the largest mangrove reserves near Taiping. It gives visitors the ability to observe mangrove habitats, walks along pathways, and witness a variety of birds and creatures. In Malaysia, a wildlife area called Matang Mangrove is frequently disregarded despite housing up to 80,000 migratory birds. There are daytime boat tours to watch eagles and evening cruises. Sometimes river dolphins enter the mangroves as well. What is more, Sarawak’s oldest natural reserve is Bako National Park, which was given protected status in 1957. Bako National Park, which is on the MuaraTebas peninsula and is about 23 kilometres (14.3 miles) northeast of Kuching, is home to a diverse array of animals and plants.

Apart from the big natural reservation area, there are some small sites also. For an instance, one of Malaysia’s tiniest natural reserves is Penang National Park, which is situated in the far northeast of Penang Island. There are several hiking routes and a large beach surrounded by secondary rainforest in the beachfront protected zone. Penang National Park offers activities like canopy treks, relaxing on isolated beaches, and observing some of the 143 distinct species of wildlife and 417 kinds of flora.

ImpressiveArrays of Plant and Animal Life

The flora of the Malaysian forests/rainforests is among the richest in the world. Along with the parasitic monster flower (Rafflesiaarnoldii of the Rafflesiaceae family), which bears the biggest known flower, reaching about 3 feet (1 metre) in diameter, there are several thousand species of vascular plants, including more than 2,000 types of trees. The woodlands of Malaysia are home to a variety of carnivorous pitcher plants (Nepenthes). There might be up to 100 distinct tree species in a single acre (0.4 hectares) of the forest, in addition to shrubs, herbs, lianas (creepers), and epiphytes (nonparasitic plants that grow on other plants and derive nourishment from the atmosphere). Because the forest canopy is so thick, little sunlight can get through. Therefore, contrary to common opinion, the undergrowth is typically underdeveloped and not impenetrable.

About 210 mammals, 250 reptiles, 150 frog species, 150 snake species, and at least 80 lizard species may be found in Malaysia. Elephants, rhinoceroses (although they are relatively rare), tigers, leopards, honey bears, forest cattle, gibbons, monkeys, and orangutans are among the mammals found in Malaysia. Pheasants, holy hornbills, kingfishers, sunbirds, and woodpeckers are just a few examples of birds. There are 150 different kinds of snakes in Malaysia, however, only 16 of them are poisonous, including cobras, vipers, and pythons.

Numerous species of animals live in the Malaysian woods and savannas. Elephants, tigers, Malayan gaurs (or seladang, enormous wild oxen), Sumatran rhinoceroses, tapirs (hoofed and snouted quadrupeds), wild pigs, and numerous kinds of deer, including pelandok, or chevrotains, are among the mammals found on the peninsula (small, deerlike ruminants, commonly called mouse deer). Additionally, native to the nation are crocodiles, monitor lizards, and cobras. On the east coast’s beaches, green sea turtles and enormous leatherback turtles lay their eggs.

Even more varieties of animals may be found in East Malaysia than on the peninsula.In addition to the species found on the peninsula, East Malaysia is home to rare species including the reddish proboscis monkeys, sun bears (also known as honey bears), and rhinoceroses, all of which are quickly becoming extinct. There are also a lot of cave swifts, whose nests are frequently harvested and sold as the primary component of Chinese bird’s nest soup.

Unsung Natural Wonders of the World: GunungMulu

Despite having a such rich diversity of the natural world, some of the important natural treasures of Malaysia are not that popular or known to the world, particularly to potential tourists. GunungMulu is one such natural wonderland. The biggest cave chamber in the world is there, along with rushing rivers, cavernous gorges, breathtaking waterfalls, jagged limestone pinnacles rising like crocodile teeth from a 60-million-year-old rainforest, and jagged limestone pinnacles. Yet less than 3,000 times have this Malaysian national park’s hashtags appeared on Instagram. Why aren’t travellers and social media influencers flocking to this location? One of Instagram’s motivations. The location is so remote that there is no Wi-Fi or internet services, which contributes to the lack of attention. The 2,10,000-acre park can only be reached by light aircraft because there are no canals or roads that go there. The only ways to go about once inside are via longboat or on foot.

Despite all odds and tribulations, adventure seekers that travel there typically spend a long to engage in activities like caving, climbing the Pinnacles, and climbing GunungMulu, a 7,799-foot peak that hikers claim is harder to climb than Kilimanjaro because of its high humidity and slick terrain.It takes at least four days to travel the 15-mile route to the summit. Other notables include the Deer Cave, the biggest cave entrance on the earth and home to millions of free-tailed bats and swiftlets, and the canopy skywalk, the longest tree-based walkway in the world.

Mount Kinabalu: The Highest Mountain in Borneo and Malaysia

A massive granite monolith rising 4,095 metres (13,435 feet) above the beautiful Bornean jungles, Mount Kinabalu has drawn many daring travellers to Malaysia. The uniqueness of Mount Kinabalu is that it is situated within Kinabalu Park, a famous World Heritage Site. The numerous varieties of flora and animals that may be discovered on the mountain at various elevations will thrill nature enthusiasts. Having plants with Himalayan, Australasian, and Indo-Malayan ancestry, Mount Kinabalu and adjacent highland regions of the Crocker Range are well renowned across the world for their incredible botanical and biological species diversification. The mountain is home to an astounding 5,000–6,000 plant species, which is more than all of Europe and North America combined (excluding tropical portions of Mexico). This estimate excludes mosses and liverworts but includes ferns. As a result, it ranks among the most significant biological locations in the world.

Tens of thousands of people climb the mountain each year. But fortunately, the UNESCO-protected Kinabalu National Park carefully controls the tourist footprint, issuing a limited number of permits and requiring all trekkers to hire a local guide. The first day’s hiking follows a clear path through the richly-canopied forest, where mosses and bright tropical flowers are picked out by shafts of sunlight. Climbing through the various vegetation zones of the mountain is fascinating. One has to go from the lowland rainforest, through the cloud forest, and on to sub-alpine meadows before reaching the granite fields of the summit plateau.

Overall, as outlined in this essay, it is evident how diverse, rich and wonderful Malaysia’s natural world is. It can be expected that Malaysia will be able to attract more tourists and nature lovers to visit this country and enjoy its enriched natural landscape. Importantly, natural treasure should not be taken for granted. It needs to be continually and consistently preserved and protected in the decades to come.